One-line: the Goddess as the daily sacred mantra, treated as a whole cosmos in twenty-four syllables.
First seen / best remembered: Best remembered from Books 11-12 as the Goddess in mantra form (Book 12 retelling; atlas: ). Name trap: Gayatri is closely identified with Savitri as mantra-Goddess, but is the Book 9 heroine who follows Yama.
Who they are: Gayatri is both mantra and Goddess. Book 12 takes the twenty-four-syllable Gayatri prayer and unfolds it as a body, a shield, a hymn, a thousand names, and a path of initiation. For the storybook reader, Gayatri is the text’s answer to: what can someone actually practice every day?
What they do that matters:
- Receives the long teaching of Book 12 chapters 1-7.
- Feeds Gautama’s starving guests through her wish-giving power.
- Becomes the daily worship that Book 12 treats as constant and essential.
Other names: Savitri, Sandhya, Mother of the Vedas
Family / lineage (when relevant): Identified with Savitri and Saraswati in mantra contexts.